


Luminance

by s-o-l-d-a-t (starsandsnipesforever)



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: But mostly fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a touch of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:28:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9964043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsandsnipesforever/pseuds/s-o-l-d-a-t
Summary: A change of scenery might be just what Credence needs to find his inner light.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written on tumblr for the prompts: silver, garden, fireflies, warm, gravebone

Dusk darkens the pink glowing sky to a deep purple. The No-Majs have long since departed, and a quiet calm has fallen over the gardens, one that is briefly disrupted by the faintest of cracks when Credence and Percival suddenly appear.

Credence’s curious eyes take in their surroundings, but even in the darkness of the evening, he recognizes the Conservatory Garden of Central Park. This is not his first time here, but every other occasion came with the bustle of crowds, so he had to focus his energy on making himself small and unimposing, too preoccupied to really give his attention to the scenery. Now the garden is empty,  his gaze takes its time drifting over the landscape.

Percival checks his corners in the way he always does, even after all this time, then murmurs under his breath while flicking his wand. Credence recognizes it as a No-Maj repelling charm, to ward off any stray patrolmen, he imagines.

Slipping his wand away, Percival takes Credence’s hand. Credence holds on, letting his older lover lead him off, eyes still wandering about their surroundings as he trusts Percival to look ahead for them. “Why here?” Credence asks.

“I thought the change of scenery might help.” Percival glances back. “Casting it the first time can be very challenging, but after that, it comes naturally.”

Credence’s eyes linger on a vast patch of flowers. Percival, ever aware of his surroundings, takes that as his cue to stop. Even without the light of day to highlight them, the careful arrangements are a sight to behold.

Little specks of light suddenly illuminate sporadically across the petals, bringing out the color the evening might have otherwise concealed, and Credence’s lips purse in surprise. It starts as a few, then more, then all across. He looks to Percival as though he expects him to be holding his wand and casting something, but Percival’s hands are unoccupied, save for the one in his own delicate grip. As though he can read Credence’s mind, a grin quirks on Percival’s face as their eyes meet and his shoulders raise an inch.

Credence’s curious gaze returns to the shimmering flower patch, and slowly the dots of lights start to drift up into the air, moving about languidly. Fireflies, Credence realizes. Not magic at all. Or perhaps, magic of a different kind, he thinks. He can feel the nerves he’d kept in his shoulders unwind and the worries jumbled in the back of his mind quiet down. In the moment, he can actually forget he’s standing in the middle of a city so busy.

“It’s perfect,” Credence breathes, looking over at Percival, who responds with a smile.

“Did you want to try here?” he asks.

Credence glances down at his jacket, aware of his wand tucked in the inner breast pocket, though he does not reach for it. His attention shifts back to Percival, and he idly nibbles at the inside of his lower lip. “No one will see?”

“No one will see,” Percival calmly confirms. “All unwelcome eyes are warded away.”

Credence nods, casting his gaze back to the fireflies rather than immediately going for his wand. The longer he watches them float lazily through the air, the more the stiffness in his muscles let go. He feels like he could easily stand here and watch them all night.

That’s not why they’re here though, Credence reminds himself, and he lets go of Percival’s hand to reach into his jacket to take out his wand. Turning away from the glittering insects, he lifts his wand, though he holds it with a bent arm and keeps his head slightly inclined. Percival steps up next to him, touching his elbow to try to get Credence to straighten his arm, though a hint of a bend stubbornly remains.

“Now,” Percival says. “Think of your most happiest memory.”

This is where Credence always struggles. He has acquired plenty of happy memories over the past few years, but which one among them was the happiest? Were any of them happy enough? As he tries to recall and consider, Credence finds his heartbeat speeding up. His mind races with a of several different recollections, but they collide and overlap into one big hazy, incomprehensible mass.

He remembers the first time Newt let him feed the Mooncalves and decides to go with that.

“Eh– _Expecto Patronum_ ,” Credence mumbles, and a silver wisp emits from his wand before disappearing.

Credence’s head slumps further, and he lowers his wand, holding the length of it in two hands, the dark wood a stark contrast to the tense fair knuckles gripping it. It’s not this place. It’s him. “I… I don’t think I can do this one.”

“Nonsense, darling.” Percival steps up next to Credence, taking a light hold of his shoulder, the other hand lowering to cover the back of Credence's. Against the cool evening air, Percival emits warmth. It’s easy to gravitate toward him. “I’ve seen you do incredible things. You’re a very strong wizard.”

Credence slowly nods, but the doubts still linger. There is a difference between being a strong wizard and being a skilled one. A difference between brute force and controlled finesse. Credence knows all too well. “But what if I _can’t_?”

His lips press together into a line as he tries to find the words for his worry. The Patronus Charm is born of happiness into an entity of light, and Credence… well. He looks down at his chest. The darkness may have been successfully extracted from him, but the impression it made will always remain. “What if I an incapable–”

“You are capable,” Percival reassures him in a firm whisper, in that way that is unyielding, unable to be overwhelmed with the anxieties that frequently overwhelm Credence. “You possess the ability. Of that, I have no doubt.”

Percival’s touch curls around Credence’s wand hand, and he guides his arm back up, extending it more confidently. “Focus on me, darling.”

Credence vaguely nods. Reaching around with his other arm, Percival presses against the front of Credence’s shoulder, and Credence brings them both back. Holding his head up and keeping poised is still an unfamiliar sensation to Credence, but with his older lover supporting him, it comes to him more easily. Percival Graves is like a rock. His rock.

“Now relax,” Percival continues. “Take a slow breath.” Credence does. “It’s just you and me here tonight. Only you and me.”

Credence nods a little more assuredly. The gentle flow of fireflies gliding over the flora reflects the calm that drapes over Credence. No one can see them. No one can bother them. It’s only him and Percival, and Percival is sturdy and warm against him. On his next out breath, Credence leans back into him ever so slightly.

Percival adjusts his hand over Credence’s without letting go, his arm straight and steady. “Don’t worry about which memory,” he says. “Focus on what you feel. Think about what you cherish. What will be with you forever.”

Credence thinks about the warm feeling in his chest right now, that feeling that Percival always effortlessly evokes. He thinks about the first time he saw him after Newt removed the Obscurus, how his eyes were warm and genuine, unlike the hard predatory gaze of Grindelwald. He thinks of when he first saw Modesty and how he expected that fear they had parted with to still be imprinted on her expression, but instead her face just lit up. He thinks of Tina and Queenie sharing treats with him and laughing, and the blonde hugging him and telling him they were his family now.

“ _Expecto Patronum_.”

Silver swells from the end of his wand, but rather than a translucent wisp, it is radiant and whole. The glow expands and takes shape, wings breaking from the structure–fingers splaying with shimmering leathery webbing. The silver bat cuts through the air, solid, complete, and unbending.

Credence’s eyes widen in a stunned disbelief, locked onto the creature that sprung to life from his own wand as though it might be an elaborate hallucination. However, after a moment, the sight of it obscures from the tears that well up from his lower lids. A startled chuckle chokes from his lips.

“That’s my boy,” Percival murmurs affectionately into his ear, the line of his nose brushing across the edge of Credence’s ear.

Credence hums, smiling and turning his head, nudging Percival’s cheek with the tip of his nose before pressing a kiss to it. “Thank you.”

Percival grins, his hands drawing back so that he can turn and face Credence properly. “For what, darling?” His arms wrap around Credence’s waist. “You’re the one that did it. I knew you could.”

Credence wraps his arms around the back of Percival’s neck. “Exactly.” He holds on tight, and Percival’s embrace squeezes, lifting Credence’s feet right off the ground when their lips come together. Credence giggles into the kiss, kicking up his heels behind him as his older lover twirls them around.

The fireflies drift all around them, unseen, and the Patronus bat circles overhead, glowing brightly, until finally flickering away.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it, please comment! ♥
> 
> Find me on tumblr! Main: [@s-o-l-d-a-t](http://s-o-l-d-a-t.tumblr.com) Gravebone Side: [@veelacredence](http://veelacredence.tumblr.com)


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